Pyrrhus

Pyrrhus, (born 319 bce—died 272, Argos, Argolis), king of Hellenistic Epirus whose costly military successes against Macedonia and Rome gave rise to the phrase “Pyrrhic victory.” His Memoirs and books on the art of war were quoted and praised by many ancient authors, including Cicero.

Upon becoming ruler at the age of 12, Pyrrhus allied himself with Demetrius, son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus of Macedonia. Dethroned by an uprising in 302 bce, Pyrrhus fought beside Demetrius in Asia and was sent to Alexandria as a hostage under the treaty between Ptolemy I Soter and Demetrius. Ptolemy befriended Pyrrhus and in 297 restored him to his kingdom. At first Pyrrhus reigned with a kinsman, Neoptolemus, but soon he had his colleague assassinated.

In 294 he exploited a dynastic quarrel in Macedonia to obtain the frontier areas of Parauaea and Tymphaea, along with Acarnania, Ampholochia, and Ambracia. Corcyra and Leucas were given to him in a marriage dowry. Next, he went to war against his former ally, now Demetrius I Poliorcetes of Macedonia. Pyrrhus took Thessaly and the western half of Macedonia and relieved Athens from Demetrius’s siege, but was driven back into Epirus by Lysimachus (who had supplanted Demetrius) in 284.

In 281 Tarentum (in southern Italy) asked for Pyrrhus’s assistance against Rome. He crossed to Italy with about 25,000 men, and in 280 won a complete, if costly, victory over a Roman army at Heraclea. In 279 Pyrrhus, again suffering heavy casualties, defeated the Romans at Ausculum (Ascoli Satriano) in Apulia. He then crossed to Sicily (278) and, as “king of Sicily,” conquered most of the Punic province except Lilybaeum (Marsala). However, his despotic methods provoked a revolt of the Greek Sicilians, and in 276 (or early 275) he returned to Italy. In 275 he suffered heavy losses in a battle against Rome at Beneventum (Benevento).

The next year he defeated the new Macedonian ruler, Antigonus II Gonatas, whose troops hailed Pyrrhus as king. Suddenly abandoning Macedonia, however, he launched an unsuccessful attack on Sparta to restore Cleonymus (272). Pyrrhus was killed in a night skirmish in the streets of Argos.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.

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